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Chapter 16 The Oceans, Coastal Processes, and Landforms

Chapter 16 The Oceans, Coastal Processes, and Landforms. Geosystems 6e An Introduction to Physical Geography. Robert W. Christopherson Charles E. Thomsen. The Oceans, Coastal Processes, and Landforms. Global Oceans and Seas   Coastal System Components   Coastal System Actions  

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Chapter 16 The Oceans, Coastal Processes, and Landforms

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  1. Chapter 16The Oceans, Coastal Processes, and Landforms Geosystems 6e An Introduction to Physical Geography Robert W. Christopherson Charles E. Thomsen

  2. The Oceans, Coastal Processes, and Landforms • Global Oceans and Seas   • Coastal System Components   • Coastal System Actions   • Coastal System Outputs   • Wetlands, Salt Marshes, and Mangrove Swamps   • Human Impact on Coastal Environments

  3. Global Oceans and Seas  • Chemical Composition of Seawater • Salinity – the concentration of dissolved solids in seawater • Brine – water that exceeds the average 35 parts per thousand salinity • Brackish – water that is less than the aver 35 parts per thousand salinity  

  4. Salinity by Latitude Figure 16.3

  5. Ocean’s Physical Structure Figure 16.4

  6. Coastal System Components   • Inputs to the Coastal System   • Solar energy • Atmospheric winds • Climatic regimes • Coastal geomorphology • Human activities • The Coastal Environment and Sea Level   • Littoral zone – the coastal or shore zone; includes land and water • Shoreline – contact line between the sea and the land

  7. Littoral Zone Figure 16.5

  8. Coastal System Components   • Coast – area of high tide to the first major landform change • Sea level – the average surface elevation of the world’s oceans

  9. Coastal System Actions   • Tides – complex daily oscillations in sea level • Produced by the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon • Waves – undulations of water caused by the friction between moving air and the ocean surface • Tsunami – seismic sea waves

  10. Coastal System Outputs   • Erosional Coastal Processes and Landforms   • Erosional coastlines – rugged, high relief, techtonically active • Wave-cut terrace • Depositional Coastal Processes and Landforms  • Beach – place along the coast where sediment is in motion, deposited by waves and currents • Barrier islands – long, narrow depositional features that form offshore parallel to the coast 

  11. Erosional Features Figure 16.13

  12. Florida Barrier Islands Figure 16.19

  13. Littoral Drift Figure 16.15

  14. Coastal System Outputs   • Biological Processes: Coral Formations • Coral – marine animal with small cylindrical, sack-shaped body • Secrete calcium carbonate from their bodies creating an external skeleton   • Require clear, sediment-free water • Coral reef – biologically derived sedimentary rock • bleaching

  15. Coral Reef Distribution Figure 16.20

  16. Wetlands, Salt Marshes, and Mangrove Swamps  • Wetlands – land covered by water for a significant period of time supporting hydrophytic vegetation • Bogs • Cypress swamps • Bottomlands • Potholes • Tundra

  17. Coastal Wetlands • Salt marshes – midlatitudes • estuaries • Mangrove swamps - tropics

  18. Coastal Salt Marsh Figure 16.22

  19. Mangroves Figure 16.23

  20. Coastal Planning Figure FS 16.1.1

  21. End of Chapter 16 Geosystems 6e An Introduction to Physical Geography Robert W. Christopherson Charles E. Thomsen

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